Japan’s Asahi Glass Seen To Post H1 Op Profit Of US$21-42 Mln

ASAHI GLASS CO. is expected to report a group operating profit of around two-four billion yen (US$21.43-42.87 million) for the six months ended June 30 amid a recovery in glass for LCD TVs, beating its earlier forecast of just breaking even. Sales apparently sank 34 per cent on the year to around 510 billion yen, but this exceeded Asahi
Glass’s projection by some 10 billion yen.

* An estimated 15 per cent price decline for LCD glass was offset by increased shipments.
* A weaker-than-expected yen also helped ease the sales drop.